A Little Twist

December 14, 2009

One thing that I love is when we have something at home, something plain or used or just in need of embellishment, that we can make our own. I attended an open house at Hip Mountain Mama on Saturday, and as I was leaving, I saw that she had the same eco-lunch bags that we had at home. While I love the natural look, all that I could see when I looked at those bags was a blank canvas to fabric paint with (see, I told you I was becoming obsessed).

When I got home, the boys picked out a design that they liked, and we painted a few colors on, and made it our own. The excitement that they had, and the incredible transformation that the bag took on, led me to see those bags in a new way. I love wrapping gifts, but I hate the waste, so they became the bags that we would pack some of our holiday goodies in to give to friends and family.

I quickly called Suzy and asked to pick-up a few more bags yesterday, and then the boys and I set off to paint and package our new gifts. We made homemade granola, to jar and place in each bag, which we thought would be a fun twist on holiday treat giving (I know that by the time we get to Christmas day, I need a healthy snack to help me with all the sugar that I have consumed over the holidays).

Many of you asked me in last week’s post about how exactly I made the fabric bag, and the stationary.

The stationary was made from a simple stamp, and a variegated stamp pad. The stamps were store bought, and only slightly raised. I am working on carving my own lino and wood blocks, but I am not ready to show those yet (need a bit more practice).

Over the weekend, I took stationary that I have had since I was in college, and I gave it the same stamping that I had done with the cards last week. Four different designs, simple and quick, transformed plain paper into something that felt custom and unique. I think that is really the joy of using a stamp for this kind of project; It takes something that almost all of us already have, and it makes it completely our own. Even simply stamping the envelope to a store bought card can make a huge difference for me now.

The fabric painting on the bag last week, and the lunch bags above is all done with freezer paper stencils. I have experimented a lot between using freezer and contact paper, and I am much more comfortable with the way that freezer paper handles itself. I have trouble keeping contact paper sticking on fabric, and I have had a few projects that have not come out as clean as I would like because of that. Having said that, I recently stenciled a corner of our bedroom wall, and the contact paper worked perfectly on that surface.

Finding a new way to package up some Christmas yumminess was a fun way to spend the weekend. What did your weekend craft time yield?

Well I'm in love with your new obsession. What a great way to deliver a gift. Whoever will receive one of these will be very very happy. The granola look great. I'm going to make a big patch to put in the big counter jar for people to munch on. Happy Monday.

I've never seen a variegated stamp pad…that is really neat. I wondered how you got so many hues on one stamping.

WOW, you are becoming quite the painter. I love those bags. I was wondering what to do with the jars of the Vanilla spiced granola that I made as gifts for the boy's teachers. Now, I know how to package the jars for a little added charm, so thank you, I was stumped..

PS, what is your recipe for granola, it looks delicious!!!! I'm on the lookout for an alternative to the one I did a bit ago.

I love that you've been stamping. I just did some stamping on brown craft paper to make wrapping for wedding and shower gifts. I haven't stamped in a long time. It was so fun and I loved the results. I made a matching card and am thinking about stationary. I love the idea of a variegated stamp pad.
We gave granola last year and people loved it. I love the idea of the painted lunch bags that you made!
We've been doing a lot of baking. Cheese crackers and gingerbread men. Later today I'll be making some biscotti. I've been trying to finish up some knitting projects too. I'm sharing a lot of these things with some how-to's on my space this week. Come on by if you have time.

Scarves! I cut out six scarves last night that I plan on sewing today while the boys are out for a bit. I LOVE the lunch bags. I need to start doing stencils again, but just can't seem to find the time. One of these years the boys will be old enough to do it with me! 🙂

Love the bags! Such a great idea. I know I would love to get one. As for crafting this weekend… it was crunch time. I got some of the relatives placemats and napkins done, and finished up some of the packaging… I used some handmade reusable xmas bags (xmas fabric was on sale at Joann's, and the kids kept picking out some cute stuff so we ended up with 8 yards! We made probably 30 reusable bags of all sizes and hope that they keep getting passed on!) They all look so cute and festive. I also finished up some felted slippers for my mom, although I had a tough time felting them in our front loading washer… not completely happy with them, but they sure are cute! Thanks for always having such great ideas!

Those bags turned out super cute! When we did them, I just had the kids have a free for all and they turned out cute, but definitly kid made. I am going to try out your idea and make a few of these in the new year! Thanks for posting the pics…I was dying to see how they turned out!

love those bags! I am currently stuck on applique myself! I do have a quick question…. what is the gorgeous turquoisey green yarn you sent me? it is the only one without a tag….. thank you so very much again….. I love all the vintage goodies and yarn 🙂

Since my fine arts degree was in graphic design, my first love has always been paper. I love it as much as yarn. Have you seen a Gocco? They are fabulous little things. If you want to see what they can do head over to this Flickr group. http://www.flickr.com/groups/gocco/

I love that idea! Its going into my ideas for next holiday season folder — this month is far too short! This weekend yielded one finished sweater sleeve, a felted yule log, a pan full of dried cinnamon orange slices and a partially finished flannel and silk scarf (oh yes I did give the unfinished item to my friend and then told her to give it back so I could finish it… deary me.) +Chelsea

What a wonderful idea. And I like the fact that you are making granola — something different than the usual Christmas cookie. Jill over at Mamaloaf had a granolathon the other day. I get so many ideas from you fellow bloggers.

Heather, that granola looks delicious! Stencilling seems pretty simple, I guess I did have directions for it in The Creative Family, which reminds that ever since I have put away some old scraps of prints from the boys' old T-shirts and onesies that I wanted to make into stencils and they ended up in the backburner. I think all I need now is freezer paper and fabric paint and make it a go!
Thanks for sharing your beautiful projects. Stamping plain envelopes is a great idea! The Spiral Tree is my favorite.
cheers! Arianne

The embellished bags are such a great idea! and they would be great personalized for kids. I love the classic, geometric designs you're using. Thanks for sharing all these great projects. I need to purchase some fabric paint.

oh stamping is so fun. we made button wreaths, homeade marshmallows and i finished up a fabric wreath. it was a productive weekend! i cant wait to see your wood cuts – you have me inspired to make some again…after christmas. check out Leonard Baskin's woodcuts- they are amazing and very large. i especially like the crows and self portraits.

My name is Heather and I am mama to four kiddos ranging in age from 10 to 1 year. We are a gluten free family navigating our way through home schooling, parenting, and an attempt at quiet simple living. I am so glad that you are here, and look forward to connecting with each of you.